He smiled when the subject of his challenge to Antonio Margarito and his welterweight world title tonight at Staples Center was broached.

That smile turned upside down when BALCO was mentioned.

It has been more than five years since Mosley was juiced on EPO and the steroids “the cream” and “the clear” when he won his second decision over Oscar De La Hoya in September 2003 in Las Vegas. Mosley, of Pomona, figured that by now the story would have died.

But it was brought back to life early last month when the New York Daily News revealed during grand jury testimony in December 2003 Mosley admitted to injecting himself with EPO and smearing on the two illegal steroids.

He still hasn’t copped to knowing that what he was taking was against the rules. He said in his testimony that he was told that the steroid “the clear” was flaxseed oil. When pressed, he said he realized it may have been “something else.” But never did he testify to knowing that he was using steroids.

Victor Conte is the founder of BALCO, which provided Mosley with the drugs. He told the New York Daily News that Mosley is “lying” and that Mosley knew what was going on every step of the way. Mosley has filed a defamation suit against Conte that is currently in litigation, rendering Mosley unable to discuss the matter at length.

For Mosley, it would be nice if it would all just go away. After all, he has a daunting task in front of him by the name of Margarito, a 30-year-

old monster of a fighter coming off an 11th-round knockout of previously undefeated Miguel Cotto in July.

Most experts believe Mosley, 37, has little chance in this fight. He scoffs at that notion.

“Margarito, he did a great fight to beat Cotto and I take my hat off to him,” Mosley said. “He’s a great warrior, champion, all that stuff. He deserves everything he’s getting. It’s just my time to come in and show the world that I’m the better fighter.”

Mosley (45-5, 38 KOs) also bristles when he is told of all the fans out there who have hung a “cheater” jacket on him.

Mosley went on to say he doesn’t care one iota about what those people are saying.

It goes further than fans, though. Sit in on a conversation full of veteran print reporters and it’s likely more of them will say they believe Mosley knew he was breaking the rules in 2003.

There was plenty of that type of talk in the MGM Grand media center prior to De La Hoya’s Dec.6 fight there against Manny Pacquiao, which took place three days after the story broke in the New York Daily News.

But for Mosley, what he really cares about is what DeLa Hoya says. In his 2008 autobiography, “American Son,” De La Hoya exonerates Mosley, writing, “… To this day, I maintain he didn’t take anything. He’s not a cheater.”

Mosley took something, all right. The question has been: Did he know what he was taking?

Richard Schaefer, CEO of DeLa Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, has told this newspaper twice since the story resurfaced that everyone involved with Golden Boy – of which Mosley is now a partner – believes Mosley when he claims ignorance.

Bob Arum, Margarito’s promoter, was still De La Hoya’s promoter in 2003. He, too, has had Mosley’s back, saying he would never have cheated “intentionally.”

“Oscar has said in his book he doesn’t believe it,” Mosley said. “Because they know me. I mean, Oscar grew up with me in the Olympic training and growing up as young kids. I mean, everybody who knows the way I am, they know my pedigree.”

During an interview last week, Schaefer was adamant about how De La Hoya feels.

“Oscar was very clear in his book, he does not believe Shane to be a cheater,” Schaefer said. “At one point, I think it would be good for Oscar and Shane to sit down and talk about it. I’m sure that day will come.”

“American Son” came out in June. De La Hoya and Mosley have not discussed this since the Dec. 3 story in the New York Daily News. De La Hoya was just days from his fight with Pacquiao, which he lost by knockout, and he has been mostly at his home in Puerto Rico ever since.

As the interview with Mosley continued, he seemed to get a little more steamed about the idea that he would knowingly break the rules.

“I’m not a cheater,” he said. “I don’t try to do anything outside the rules of boxing; that’s just not me. I want to be the best. I want to be considered the best. I want to be the best because I’m doing the same thing everybody else is doing.

“I’m working hard, training hard, getting up in the morning, doing my run, watching my weight, watching my meals. I’m working hard. I’m not trying to have some kind of miracle pill.”

“Oh, come on, absolutely,” said Studio City’s Carlos Palomino, a former welterweight world champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. “At 37 … the guy who is competing is always the last to know where his skills are at. You always feel in your heart and your mind that you are still 25.

“Just the fact Mosley lost to Cotto (by decision in November 2007). He put up a good fight, but the pressure was what did it. With Margarito, he is going to be facing two or three times the pressure.

“I think Margarito would have to trip and break his ankles on the way in.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.

Pomona’s “Sugar” Shane Mosley recently sat in his room at his sprawling training camp at Big Bear Lake, decked out in a snazzy jogging suit.

When the subject of his fight tonight at Staples Center against Antonio Margarito for Margarito’s welterweight world title was broached, Mosley smiled.

That smile turned upside down when BALCO was mentioned.

It has been more than five years since Mosley was juiced on EPO and the steroids “the cream” and “the clear” when he won his second decision over Oscar De La Hoya in September 2003 in Las Vegas. Mosley figured that by now the story would have died.

But it was brought back to life early last month when the New York Daily News reported that during grand jury testimony in December 2003 Mosley admitted to injecting himself with EPO and smearing on the two illegal steroids.

He still hasn’t admitted to knowing that what he was taking was against the rules. He said in his testimony that he was told that the steroid “the clear” was flaxseed oil. When pressed, he said he realized it may have been “something else.” But he never admitted knowing that he was using steroids.

Victor Conte is the founder of BALCO, which provided Mosley with the drugs. He told the New York Daily News that Mosley is “lying” and that Mosley knew what was going on every step of the way. Mosley has filed a defamation suit against Conte that is currently in litigation, rendering Mosley unable to discuss the matter at length.

For Mosley, it would be nice if it would all just go away. After all, he has a daunting task in front of him in Margarito, a 30-year-old monster of a fighter coming off an 11th-round knockout of previously undefeated Miguel Cotto in July.

Most experts believe that Mosley, 37, has little chance in this fight. He scoffs at that notion.

“Margarito, he did a great fight to beat Cotto and I take my hat off to him,” Mosley said. “He’s a great warrior, champion, all that stuff. He deserves everything he’s getting. It’s just my time to come in and show the world that I’m the better fighter.”

Mosley (45-5, 38 KOs) also bristles when he is told of all the fans who have hung a “cheater” label on him. Boxing Web sites are filled with such talk.

Mosley went on to say he doesn’t care at all about what people are saying.

But it’s not just fans talking. Many veteran reporters say they believe Mosley knew he was breaking the rules in 2003. There was plenty of that type of talk in the MGM Grand media center prior to De La Hoya’s Dec. 6 fight in Las Vegas against Manny Pacquiao, which took place three days after the Mosley grand jury tesitmony story broke in the New York Daily News.

What Mosley really cares about is what De La Hoya says. In his 2008 autobiography, “American Son,” De La Hoya exonerates Mosley, writing, “… To this day, I maintain he didn’t take anything. He’s not a cheater.”

It’s apparent that Mosley took something. The question has been, did he know what he was taking?

Richard Schaefer, CEO of DeLaHoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, has said that everyone involved with Golden Boy – of which Mosley is now a partner – believes Mosley when he claims ignorance.

Bob Arum, Margarito’s promoter, was still De La Hoya’s promoter in 2003. He, too, has supported Mosley, agreeing that Mosley would never have cheated “intentionally.”

“Oscar has said in his book he doesn’t believe it,” Mosley said. “Because they know me. I mean, Oscar grew up with me in the Olympic training and growing up as young kids. I mean, everybody that knows the way I am, they know my pedigree.”

During an interview last week, Schaefer was adamant about how De La Hoya feels.

“Oscar was very clear in his book, he does not believe Shane to be a cheater,” Schaefer said. “At one point, I think it would be good for Oscar and Shane to sit down and talk about it. I’m sure that day will come.”

“American Son” came out in June. De La Hoya and Mosley have not discussed the issue since the Dec. 3 story in the New York Daily News. De La Hoya was just days from his fight with Pacquiao, which he lost by knockout, and has been mostly at his home in Puerto Rico since.

As the interview continued, Mosley seemed to get more angry about the idea that he would knowingly break the rules.

“I’m not a cheater,” he said. “I don’t try to do anything outside the rules of boxing; that’s just not me. I want to be the best. I want to be considered the best. I want to be the best because I’m doing the same thing everybody else is doing.

“I’m working hard, training hard, getting up in the morning, doing my run, watching my weight, watching my meals. I’m working hard. I’m not trying to have some kind of miracle pill.”

“Oh, come on, absolutely,” said Studio City’s Carlos Palomino, a former welterweight world champion and member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame. “At 37 … the guy who is competing is always the last to know where his skills are at. You always feel in your heart and your mind that you are still 25.

“Just the fact Mosley lost to Cotto (by decision in November 2007, makes him the underdog). He put up a good fight, but the pressure was what did it. With Margarito, he is going to be facing two or three times the pressure.

“I think Margarito would have to trip and break his ankles on the way in (to lose).”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.